Three Red-throated and up to six Pacific loons on Lake Superior gave birders something to look for on the big lake for much of the season. Most of these were reported for periods between several days and a few weeks. Unfortunately, the juvenile Yellow-billed Loon on Mille Lacs Lake could not be relocated after its initial discovery. All records of this species in the state have been in late fall and the last one was also on Mille Lacs. There were few reports of Eared Grebe or Western Grebe, and none of Clark's Grebe this season.

An immature Snowy Egret in Houston and a juvenile Little Blue Heron in Carver were found in August, while four reports of Cattle Egret were spread out through the entire period. Two Plegadis in western Minnesota were unidentified. Long-overdue was the first state record Black Vulture photographed at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve on 28 August.

Possibly oversummering was an early Greater White-fronted Goose at Big Stone N.W.R., 19 August. White-fronteds rarely arrive before the end of September, especially in southern Minnesota (recent median 3 October, and earliest ever 21 September 1990). On the other hand, this species has occurred no fewer than five times in the summer season: Marshall County 11 July 1984, St. Louis County 9 June 1990, Roseau County 4 July 1992, one possibly injured in Rock County 24 July 1999, and Meeker County 2 July 2000. Ross's Geese were reported from five counties, including a first county record in Wabasha. On the early side was a Tundra Swan in the Northwest region during late August.

Eight Harlequin Ducks were found at four locations along the North Shore of Lake Superior — a good number for this species in any year — but one on Mille Lacs Lake was most surprising. Scoters were relatively scarce on Lake Superior, but there were more reports than usual from “inland” bodies of water. All three species were found on Mille Lacs Lake and at Prairie Island in Winona. Scoters were also found at many other locations away from Lake Superior, including the first Black Scoter ever recorded in Pope County. Only two Long-tailed Ducks were found away from Lake Superior, one on Lake Winnibigoshish and the other in Olmsted County. An adult male Barrow's Goldeneye was photographed at Pool #8, Houston County.

A Northern Goshawk in Hennepin County was the only south report this season. At Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve in Duluth, four Red-shouldered Hawks was up from only one last fall, but six Swainson's Hawks was down from last year's fourteen. Golden Eagle numbers were truly impressive; daily and seasonal records were established at Hawk Ridge. An immature gray-morph Gyrfalcon thrilled observers there in late October. Two Prairie Falcons were discovered, both in the extreme western part of the state. Yellow Rail was found for the third consecutive September in Jackson County. A Common Moorhen family delighted observers at Minnesota Lake, Meeker County through late September; one at Swan Lake, Nicollet County, was the only other report.

A Piping Plover in Big Stone County during late August may have been a holdover from the summer season. Most American Avocet reports were from the West-central region, but others were in Dakota and Winona counties. Unusually high numbers of Hudsonian Godwits were present during August in the West-central region. The shorebird highlight of the season was a Western Sandpiper found in late October at Lake Byllesby. It provided the first acceptable Minnesota record of this species since 1991! Early August brought record high numbers of Buff-breasted Sandpipers into eastern and western Minnesota. For the season, 550+ was scattered among 12 counties, compared to almost 300 last fall. Sixty-two Red-necked Phalaropes at the Browns Valley sewage lagoons was noteworthy, but this location was erroneously attributed to Traverse County by several observers — these lagoons are situated in neighboring Big Stone County.

All three jaeger species were found in the state this season! An adult Pomarine Jaeger at Park Point in Duluth provided the state's 15^th record. Between five and eight Parasitic Jaegers were at Duluth, all in September. Most surprising was the Minnesota's eighth Long-tailed Jaeger, discovered on the St. Croix River in Washington County, where it lingered for three days. An extremely early jaeger on Cass Lake, Cass County, and two other jaegers in Duluth could not be identified to species. Much more likely in spring but found there for the second consecutive fall was a Little Gull in Duluth. For the fourth consecutive October, Black-headed Gull was documented at Spirit Lake, Jackson County. Four different Iceland Gulls were observed along Lake Superior, but none anywhere else. Perhaps two, but possibly only one Lesser Black-backed Gull occurred in the Twin Cities this season. Multiple Sabine's Gulls were reported at the Superior Entry and Park Point in Duluth, while a juvenile at the Paynesville sewage lagoons furnished the first Stearns County record. Juvenile Black-legged Kittiwakes were observed during mid-November in Cook County and later in the month at Duluth. Tardy Common Terns were documented at Lake Bemidji and Mille Lacs Lake. At least one but probably two Arctic Terns were found at the Superior Entry in Duluth. This was only the second fall report of this species in the state — the first was last September, at the same location!

The state's eighth Band-tailed Pigeon was very cooperative for a few days in a Minneapolis suburb. Eurasian Collared-Doves were found in three counties. The pair in Houston fledged their third brood this season, so watch for them soon in your neighborhood! Snowy Owls began appearing in mid-October; unfortunately, many were found starving or dead. At least five Northern Hawk Owls were discovered in the Northeast region, while Great Gray Owls were confined to the northern tier counties along the Canadian border. An unusually high number of Black-backed Woodpeckers was found in the Northeast, but only two American Three-toed Woodpeckers were reported.

Two Western Kingbirds along the North Shore in mid-October were a month and a half later than any others in the state this fall. Loggerhead Shrikes were found in five counties, but only as late as the end of August. Northern Shrikes first appeared in mid-October. A first-fall White-eyed Vireo at Lutsen was a first for Cook County while a Warbling Vireo in the same county was record late. Meanwhile, a Red-eyed Vireo in McLeod County tied the record late date for that species. Two Tufted Titmice showed up at a feeder in Chisago County and stayed most of November. Carolina Wrens made appearances in Houston, Mower, Washington, and most unusual, Cook County. Almost two months later than any other report of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher this fall was one found along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Knife River. It furnished the fourth November record; others were in 1994 and 2000 (2).

Only one Mountain Bluebird but as many as twenty Townsend's Solitaires were reported! Most of the solitaires were along Lake Superior's North Shore, but first county records in Kandiyohi and Rock were notable. Seventeen reports of Gray-cheeked Thrush were more than usual. In contrast to the high number of solitaries, Varied Thurshes were found in only four locations. Four Northern Mockingbirds were neatly distributed among the four quadrants of the state. Proving the axiom “anything is possible” was the Sprague's Pipit at Resurrection Cemetery in Dakota County.

Lingering species included Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, and Pine Warbler. It was a great migration for Black-throated Blue Warbler, with multiple reports from seven south counties, including five birds at one Anoka County location. Sightings of Yellow-throated Warbler may have been related to their successful nesting in Dakota County (The Loon 73:236–240). Unusual numbers of Hooded Warblers lingered at Murphy-Hanrehan Park, their best known nesting location in the state, and one was record late in St. Cloud.

A Spotted Towhee in Rochester was the only one reported. Twenty-one Clay-colored Sparrows near East Grand Forks was a high count for fall. Late and unexpected along the North Shore of Lake Superior were no fewer than four Field Sparrows. Providing Minnesota's fifth state record was a first-year Black-throated Sparrow at Knife River, Lake County. More than usual were six reports of Nelson's Sparrow, two from the north and four from the south. Harris's Sparrows were abundant in the Southwest during mid-October. Smith's Longspurs were found in Cottonwood, St. Louis, and Traverse counties. As many as 50 Great-tailed Grackles in Jackson County were near the location where this species was found breeding in June 2000. A few winter finches appeared south of their normal winter range in the East-central region, including Pine Grosbeak, Red and White-winged crossbills, and most unusual of all, Evening Grosbeak in two locations.

Weather Summary: August was drier and warmer than normal in all Minnesota regions, except for slightly above normal precipitation in the Northwest and near normal in the Southeast. Five heat-related deaths occurred in Duluth during a 5–8 August heat wave as temperatures spiked 10–15°F above normal in several locations. On the heels of this heat wave, a strong cold front dropped temperatures as much as 20°F from the previous day and winds >100 mph were reported in the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area.

September was fairly unremarkable. Except for warmth in the Northwest (2.7°F above normal) and persistence of dry conditions in the Northeast (2.01 inches below normal), most of the state experienced near normal temperatures and precipitation. A series of three low pressure systems during 19–25 September brought significant rainfall to much of the state and temperatures plunged to 25°F at International Falls on the morning of the 24^th, and even colder (19°F at Embarrass and 20°F at Tower) the next morning. Except for near normal temperatures and below normal precipitation in central and southern regions, October was cool and wet, not only in northern Minnesota but also in much of the Midwest, where it was the fourth wettest October in 107 years. A powerful system in late October brought very strong winds (>50 mph) to several locations including St. Cloud and Rochester, and the first measurable snow. Snowfall was heaviest in the Northwest region, where the greatest amounts were at Argyle (14 inches), Hallock, and Thief River Falls (11 inches each).

Like much of the Midwest, Minnesota enjoyed warmth in November — in fact, it was the warmest November in 107 years! All nine regions reported double digit above normal temperatures for the month, except the Northeast which was “only” 9.1°F above normal. Record high temperatures were set in Minneapolis on the 5^th and St. Cloud on the 6^th. Dry and warm conditions continued through the third week of the month, until a stormy 21–30 November ushered in significant precipitation and returned temperatures to near normal. Willmar set an all-time record for snowfall within 24 hours (21 inches) as a total of 30.4 inches fell 26–28 November. Significant amounts were also recorded in Minneapolis and other cities as a band of snowfall stretched across southern Minnesota. By the end of the month, all regions except the Northwest reported above average precipitation. Acknowledgments: I thank Molly and Dave Evans, Frank Nicoletti, and Duluth Audubon Society for data from Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. Karl Bardon and Peder Svingen reviewed this report and offered many helpful suggestions. Peder compiled loons through woodpeckers. Besty Beneke, Dave Benson, Kim Eckert, and Anthony Hertzel provided transcripts of weekly birding reports. Earliest and latest migration dates were compiled by Robert Janssen. Medians of recent arrival and departure dates were calculated from published and unpublished data used for seasonal reports from 1985 through 2000. Finally, many thanks to the hundreds of dedicated observers who submit data and documentation each season.